1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pivoted handled tool for grasping, holding or cutting workpieces having various configurations.
2. Description of Background Information
It is known, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,291 to McBain, to provide a pivoted handle tool having at least one pivotable jaw for engagement with a workpiece having a range of different sizes, such as nuts or bolts. The pivotable jaws have flat planar surfaces opposing one another, and the handles include an adjustable pivotable connection to enable the hand tool to engage a plurality of different sized fasteners. However, the flat planar surfaces of the jaws do not permit sufficient engagement with the outer surfaces of the nut such that when a turning force is applied by the hand tool of McBain, the tool can readily slip off the fastener or cause the outer surfaces to become rounded thereby rendering removal or installation of the fastener to be difficult if not impossible.
Another conventional hand tool having pivoted handles and including a locking feature is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,221 to Kalkbrenner et al., which discloses a clamping device for rectangular configurations that includes two opposed jaws each having a pivotally mounted, right-angled jaw portion which form a self-adjusting rectangular opening for engaging and holding a rectangular workpiece. The jaws are disclosed as engaging only square or rectangular workpieces and the jaws encompass the entire perimeter of those workpieces or the entire perimeter of an arrangement of a plurality of rectangular workpieces that are desired to be clamped together. It is clear that the self-adjusting jaws disclosed in Kalkbrenner et al. are not intended to engage the heads of threaded fasteners for applying a rotational force or torque thereto.
Conventional locking pliers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,107 to Schmidt. The locking pliers disclosed herein include fixed planar jaw portions, with or without toothed segments, fixed curved jaw portions including toothed segments and combinations of fixed planar and toothed segments. However, there is no disclosure of a self-adjusting pivoted jaw for engagement of a multi-sided workpiece to apply a rotational force or torque thereto, nor is there disclosure of the pivoted jaws being formed with cutting segments, or of a locking pliers having two jaw members pivotally attached to one elongated member to provide a greater range of movement.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,145 to Mead and U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,440 to Johnson both disclose hand tools having pivoted handles which include a slot formed in one of the handles at the pivotal connection to permit the hand tool to accommodate workpieces of various sizes. However, neither of these conventional pivoted handle tools provide an adjustment slot in both of the pivoted members to permit greater adjustability and accommodation of workpieces having larger sizes.
The present invention overcomes deficiencies in the prior art relative to the ability of the jaws of a hand tool having pivoted handles to maintain sufficient contact with a multi-sided workpiece, such as a hexagonal fastener, for example a nut or bolt, when a rotational force or torque is applied. This results in an increased ability of the pivoted handle hand tool to apply a sufficient rotational force or torque to the workpiece and to provide proper engagement therewith to prevent rounding or other damage.
Furthermore, a hand tool embodying the pivoting self-adjusting jaws of the present invention enjoys enhanced engagement of a multi-sided workpiece, such as a hexagonal fastener, by providing engagement on four sides of the fastener with the jaw surfaces. Accordingly, the torquing capacity of the hand tool is increased, as is the ability of the tool to effectively engage and rotate a hexagonal fastener having worn or rounded surfaces as well as an undamaged hexagonal fastener.
Additionally, the present invention overcomes the deficiency in prior art toggle-link type hand tools by providing the pivotally interconnected jaws with cutting surfaces to facilitate gripping and cutting of work pieces thereby, and by providing a pair of pivotally interconnected jaw members on elongated members for increased efficiency in the actuation thereof.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the hand tool is provided that includes at least two elongated members pivotally interconnected by a pivot joint to provide a pair of handles and a pair of jaw carrying members. Each jaw carrying member includes a self-adjusting jaw pivotally connected thereto, and each self-adjusting jaw is configured to have an angle-shape whereby operation of the handle causes engagement of a multi-sided workpiece by the angle-shaped jaws to enable firm engagement with a workpiece and imparting of a rotational force or torque thereto. Each angle-shaped jaw may be configured to engage two sides of a hexagonal fastener, and the pivot joint may be configured as a slip joint.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the slip joint may include a slot formed in at least one of the elongated members, and the slot includes at least two adjusting notches therein. A pin for pivotally interconnecting the elongated members is mounted on the other of the elongated members, and is movable within the slot from one adjusting notch to the other, thereby permitting adjustment of jaw spacing to accommodate different size fasteners. Additionally, the slot may be provided with more than two adjusting notches to permit greater adjustability of the hand tool.
According to another aspect of the invention, the hand tool is configured to have a second slot formed in the other of the elongated members, with the second slot having at least two adjusting notches therein. Furthermore, the pin for interconnecting the elongated members is rotatably mounted and is configured to have a D-shaped cross-section, whereby the pin is rotatable to align the flat side of the D-shape with a longitudinal dimension of each of the slots to permit sliding movement of both elongate members relative to one another to provide adjustment and to position the curved side of the pin within the respective notches to prevent relative pivoting of the elongated handles to allow operation of the hand tool.
Additionally, one end of the rotatable pin may be provided with a head, and the other end of the rotatable pin may be provided with a knurled knob to facilitate rotation of the pin to a desired position. Furthermore, each of the slots may be provided with more than two adjusting notches to permit greater adjustability of the hand tool.
Moreover, the pivoted handle tool may further include an angle-shaped self-adjusting jaw pivotally mounted to each of the elongated members for engagement with a multi-sided workpiece, and in particular each angle-shaped self-adjusting jaw may be configured to engage two adjacent sides of a hexagonal fastener.
According to another aspect of the invention, a toggle-link type hand tool is provided that includes pivotally interconnected elements having workpiece engaging members and a pair of handles each operatively connected to a respective one of the pivotally interconnected elements, and a toggle-link operatively connected between the handles. Additionally, each of the workpiece engaging members includes a self-adjusting jaw pivotally connected thereto and each jaw is configured to have an angle-shape for engagement with two adjacent sides of a hexagonal fastener. Additionally, the pivotable connection of at least one of the self-adjusting jaws to a respective workpiece engaging member may be provided by a slot formed in one of the jaw and the member and a pin fixed to the other of the jaw and the member to provide greater adjustability of the jaws.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a toggle-link type hand tool is provided that includes pivotally interconnected elements having workpiece engaging members, a pair of handles, with each of the handles operatively connected to a respective one of the elements, and a toggle-link operatively connected between the handles. Furthermore, each of the workpiece engaging members is configured to have a cutting surface, and the cutting surfaces may be configured as straight blades or the cutting surfaces may be configured as curved cutting surfaces to facilitate cutting of circular members.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a toggle-link type hand tool includes first and second elongated elements, a pair of workpiece engaging members pivotally connected to the first elongated member, and the second elongated member forms a handle pivotally connected to one of the workpiece engaging members. Additionally, a first toggle-link is operatively interconnected between the first and second elongated elements and actuating mechanism for the other of the workpiece engaging member. Thus, manipulation of the handle and operation of the actuating mechanism causes the workpiece engaging members to move toward and away from one another to facilitate engagement with the workpiece. The actuating mechanism may include an operating mechanism operatively interconnecting the pair of workpiece engaging members for conjoint movement. Furthermore, the operating mechanism may include a gear segment formed on each of the workpiece engaging members, with the gear segments meshing together so that movement of the one workpiece engaging member by operation of the handle transmits movement to the other workpiece engaging member for actuation thereof. Each workpiece engaging member may include a self-adjusting jaw pivotally connected thereto, and each of the jaws may be configured to have an angle-shape for engagement with two adjacent sides of a hexagonal fastener.
Furthermore, the workpiece engaging members may be provided with toothed segments to provide a firm grip on workpieces engaged thereby. Moreover, the actuating mechanism may include a third elongated element forming a second handle pivotally connected to the other of the workpiece engaging member, and a second toggle-link may be operatively connected between the first and third elongated elements. Moreover, the first and second toggle-links may be each pivotally connected at a first end to the respective second and third elongated elements and may be each connected at a second end to the first elongated member for pivotable and longitudinal movement relative thereto.
The first elongated element may be formed from a pair of spaced apart, complementary curved plates forming an elongate passageway in which the second ends of the toggle-links are pivotally and longitudinally moveable. The second ends of the toggle-links may each be provided with two semi-spherical members, on opposite sides thereof, for permitting the pivotable and longitudinal movement within the passage.
According to another aspect of the invention, the toggle-link hand tool may further include an adjustment member on the first elongated element for engagement by the second ends of the toggle-links, thereby providing adjustability for the workpiece engaging members. Furthermore, the adjustment member may be formed as a screw-threaded member threadedly engaged with an outer end of the first elongated element and an end of the screw-threaded member may engage the second ends of the toggle-links to provide adjustability. Furthermore, the second ends of the toggle-links may be pivotally interconnected, and two semi-spherical members may be provided on opposite sides of the second ends of the toggle-links for permitting the pivotable and longitudinal movement within the passage. Furthermore, an adjustment member may be provided on the first element for engagement by the second ends of the toggle-links to provide adjustability for the workpiece engaging members, and the adjustment member may be formed as a screw-threaded member threadedly engaged with an outer end of the first element and an end of the screw-threaded member engages the second ends of the toggle-links.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the toggle-link type hand tool may be formed such that the second and the third elongated elements are longer than, and extend outwardly beyond, an outer end of the first elongated element to increase the leverage of the hand tool, to permit operation of the hand tool by two hands, and to eliminate the need for a release lever for the locking mechanism. Each workpiece engaging member may also include a self-adjusting jaw pivotally connected thereto, and each jaw may be configured to have an angle-shape for engagement with two sides of a hexagonal fastener. Alternatively, each of the workpiece engaging members may be configured to have a cutting surface, and the cutting surfaces may be configured as straight blades or as curved cutting surfaces.
According to a further aspect of the invention, each of the workpiece engaging members may have an arcuate configuration, and a plurality of teeth may be provided on facing inner arcuate surfaces of the workpiece engaging members to facilitate gripping of a workpiece having a generally circular outer surface.